Two brothers, Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, accused of murdering South African rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes, will stand trial in South Africa after their extradition from Eswatini, South African authorities say.

Rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, were shot dead outside a Durban restaurant in 2023.

A high-risk team from the South African Police Service was sent to Eswatini to receive the brothers at the King International Airport on Tuesday, state media SABC reports.

Seven suspects were arrested in February last year, including the brothers who were traced to Eswatini.

South African police say Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, together with five co-accused, will answer to charges linked to the murders of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane.

Multiple alleged crimes

The Ndimande brothers are also accused of involvement in the murder of a taxi boss in Amanzimtoti, the attempted murder of his wife, and the killing of a driver, bringing the total number of charges to 24.

Police believe that one of the brothers was responsible for the shooting incident that claimed the lives of AKA and Motsoane.

National Police Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe informed journalists that the lead investigator has executed the arrest warrant, officially placing the brothers under arrest in South Africa.

However, Melusi Xulu, a legal analyst from South Africa, informed state media SABC that the brothers' court date remains far off.

“They’ll obviously decide whether they’ll apply for bail or abandon bail, and then once they have done that, they must also get an attorney in South Africa who will represent them,” Xulu said.

The analysts further added that once bail is decided, “the matter will be postponed to deal with the pre-trial so that they can see that they are ready for the trial. Then next year, which will be, I believe, in June, July, August, October, and November, that is when the trial will be done,” explains Xulu.

On February 11, 2023, AKA fans woke up to shocking news of AKA’s murder alongside chef Tebello Motsoane, a close friend, as they walked towards their car from a restaurant in Durban.

‘Close range attack’

South African police said they were approached by two armed men who opened fire at close range.

Since the rapper’s death, his songs have hit the top of the charts and won several music awards throughout 2023.

AKA also posthumously won Best Engineered Album, Best Collaboration, and Best Male Artist of the Year at the 2023 South African Music Awards.

AKA was also honoured at the BET Hip Hop Awards with the Global Visionary Award and was nominated in the category of Best International Flow.